Agricultural Research Technology Center

The Agricultural Research Technology Center (ARTC) Modernization project involved the redevelopment of a 1940s-era research campus at the USDA Agricultural Research Technology Center in Salinas, CA. Designed to achieve a USGBC LEED Silver rating, the $95.8 million design-bid-build project for the USDA’s Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit was initiated to provide an up-to-date research facility for carrying out their mission to improve the genetic integrity of vegetable crops, research plant diseases, and better control pests and weeds.

To minimize disturbance to ongoing research activities on the campus, the project was carried out in two phases. Phase 1 involved the demolition of existing buildings, site preparation, and the construction of a new Lab/Office complex consisting of a pair of two-story steel-frame structures, the East and West Wings, connected by two bridges at the second-floor level. Although both buildings are very similar in design, the 39,499 SF East Lab/Office wing houses administrative, training functions as well as scientific offices, laboratories, and support spaces, while the 31,600 SF West Lab/Office wing dedicates most of its space to scientific offices, laboratories, and support spaces.

The project also involved the installation of two 4,615 SF prefabricated greenhouse swing space structures and a 1,420 SF prefabricated insect house to serve as temporary housing for laboratory plants and insect colonies while the new Headhouse/Greenhouse complex was being built. The swing space structures were each erected on a foundation of concrete knee walls on spread footing foundations and slab-on-grade floors. These swing space structures were constructed in the southeast corner of the campus, near the research center’s cultivated fields.

Phase 2 involved the demolition of three existing research buildings to make way for a 37,000 SF Headhouse/Greenhouse complex consisting of a headhouse, three greenhouses. The headhouse serves as the main access point for the three greenhouses and provides space for special resources such as a steam autoclave, cold rooms, chemical spray, photography, insectaries, mechanical and electrical equipment, employee lockers, and general storage. Four of the cold rooms were relocated to the headhouse from elsewhere on the campus. Each of the three greenhouses is dedicated to specific research areas such as plant pathology, biology, crop research, and plant breeding.

A 2,070 SF Isolation Unit complex was also constructed approximately 110 feet south of the western corner of the Headhouse/Greenhouse complex. Isolation units have transparent walls and roofs, like green houses, but are designed to provide a more controlled environment for plant research. The complex consists of two 75-foot by 8-foot steel and tempered glass isolation units and a mechanical shed to house ventilation equipment. Each isolation unit has 30 cubicles, each with its own access door and fresh air supply and exhaust.

Phase 2 also included the construction of a new main campus entrance and asphalt-paved road to allow access to the new Lab/Office Wings and Headhouse/Greenhouse complex, as well as new parking areas that were also developed as part of the project.